Shelf support



April 6, 1954 c. w. AT-TWOOD SHELF SUPPORT Filed Nov. 20, 1950 FIG'J.

FIG.3.

INVENTOR.

CHARLES W. ATTWOOD ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 6, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHELF SUPPORT Charles W. Attwood, Wayne, Mich.

Application November 20, 1950, Serial No. 196,687

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to shelf supports and specifically to shelf supports adapted for use with upright channel section members such as those shown in U. S. Letters Patent No. 2,345,650, issued April 4, 1944, to the present inventor.

In that patent there is shown a channel member consisting of a strip of sheet metal bent laterally to form a rectangular channel having its edges bent toward each other at right angles and then downwardly toward the bottom wall of the channel, also at right angles, leaving an open lengthwise slot between short inturned flanges.

The present invention has among its objects the provision of a shelf supporting element easily and quickly attached to such a channel member arranged in an upright position.

Another object is the provision of such an element "attached without the use of bolts or screws and in any location lengthwise of the upright member.

Still another object is such a shelf support that is provided with means for preventing displacement of a shelf being supported thereby.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the following description and the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a more or less diagrammatic View of a set of shelves indicating the use of the support.

Fig. 2 is a perspective phantom view showing one of the supports in position on an upright.

Fig. 3 is a top plan View of the same.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same, showing a portion of a wood shelf.

Fig. 5 is a view as from the right of Fig. 4, but showing two adjacent shelves.

In Fig. 1 there is indicated, more or less diagrammatically, a shelf unit consisting of a plurality of upright members Ill, it being understood that other uprights, not visible, are used to provide in plan a rectangular or other shaped structure. These may be suitably fixed together with cross members and diagonal braces if desired. These members it will be channel members of the indicated at ill in Figs. to 5 and as shown in the prior patent above referred to. The uprights it will be so arranged as to present the open slot inwardly of the structure.

The shelf support, shown as a whole at I5, consists of a U-shaped piece of spring metal, the legs of which are each provided with a hook portion lfiA bent outwardly from the plane of the leg metal and located adjacent the leg end. Each leg is also provided with wing abutment B bent outward at right angles to the plane of the leg metal and having its lower or active edge normal to the outer line of the support member.

The hook I5A and abutment edge I5C are spaced lengthwise of the U-shaped support a distance that is substantially the depth of the flange i0A turned inwardly along the open slot in the member Ill. The book 15A is also at the upper edge of the leg metal, while the edge [50 of the abutment I5B is at the lower edge thereof.

As indicated in Figs. 2 to 5, the member [5 is inserted in a member III by squeezing together the book ends and after insertion in the slot, allowing the legs to spring apart under the flanges IDA. In order to do this, the member 15 must be tilted upwardly, so that the nose of the hook will pass under the flange I 0A.

When this has been done, the member is brought down to the position shown so that the abutment lEB rests against the portion IOB of member 10, this being the face between the open slot and the side wall.

To retain the member I5 in this position against accidental dislodgement, suitable bumps or low projections [6 may be formed in the leg metal and located so that they will underlie the inner edge of a flange IDA when the member I5 is in position. Further, the upper edge of the support member IE will be provided with sharp projections l1 adapted to penetrate a wooden shelf such as is indicated at l8.

In Fig. 5 there are shown two wooden shelves 18 having their adjacent edges maintained in position by the projections II. The same support I 5 may also be used to support metal shelves or boxes, but in this case, suitable openings in the shelves or boxes must be provided for the reception of the projections I1.

I claim:

1. Shelving comprising upright frame elements each consisting of rectangular channeled members having open slots of less width than the members and provided with flanges extending inwardly of the channels along said slots, and shelf supports consisting of U-shaped elements of resilient material adapted to project into said slots and provided on their upper edges with hooks adapted to embrace said flanges and on their lower edges with abutments adapted to rest against the faces of said channeled members between the slot and the outer walls.

2. Shelving as set out in claim 1 in which the shelf supports are provided with means to prevent accidental dislodgement.

3. In combination with a rectangular frame member having a longitudinal slot in one of its faces and having flanges at the edges of said slot extending inwardly and at right angles to the adjacent outer surface of the member, a support for a shelf or the like consisting of U-shaped element of resilient material having at the upper edges of its legs, hooks embracing and engaging the inner edges of said flanges and having at the lower edges of said legs abutments engaging the outer face of the frame member, said U-shaped 10 element being engageable with or disengageable from said frame member by squeezing together the legs and passing said hooks through said slot.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 565,539 Hartzell Aug. 11, 1896 716,852 Baker Dec. 30, 1902 1,041,264 Freud Oct. 15, 1912 2,123,458 Woehler et a1. July 12, 1938 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 834,517 France Aug. 22, 1938 

